APA Dictionary of Psychology

n. the quality of a relationship among elements such that relationships do not transfer across the elements (i.e., that relationships do not exhibit transitivity). For example, a transitive relationship would be the following: Given that a > b and that b > c, it must be the case that a > c. An intransitive relationship would be one in which such a conclusion did not necessarily follow. Such relationships appear to be illogical and inconsistent but are often found in matters of personal preference or other subjective judgments. For example, a person might prefer the color blue over red and red over green, but when given a choice, they might prefer green over blue. —intransitive adj.